Friday night will mark the Buckeyes’ final game of the 2022-23 regular season. And for senior guard Taylor Mikesell, it’ll be her last game at the Schottenstein Center.
The No. 16 Ohio State women’s basketball team will celebrate senior day in a rematch against No. 7 Maryland, a team that could potentially secure a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and handed the Buckeyes their largest loss of the season — a 36-point defeat Feb. 5 at College Park, Maryland.
The Buckeyes already snagged a top-four finish in the conference after a wire-to-wire win against No. 12 Michigan Monday night, which secured them a double-bye into the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. However, many fans are coming out to celebrate Ohio State’s seniors in what might be their last game as a Buckeye.
But for now, Ohio State looks to even the score against the Terrapins with a victory as it celebrates senior night.
The Terrapins are coming off an impressive double-digit win against reigning Big Ten Player of the Year junior guard Caitlin Clark and Iowa Tuesday night at home. Maryland is now tied for the NCAA lead in top-10 wins this season with four and is 6-3 against ranked opponents this season.
Senior guard Diamond Miller leads Maryland with averages of 20 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Sophomore guard Shyanne Sellers and senior guard Abby Meyers follow, averaging 14 points apiece.
But the Buckeyes will look to keep a close eye on Terrapins senior guard Brinae Alexander who put on a shooting performance along with senior guard Lavender Briggs against the Hawkeyes, combining for 43 points. Alexander comes off the bench averaging 8.3 points per game but scored a team-high 24 against the Hawkeyes in 30 minutes of playtime.
In the previous matchup against the Buckeyes, Alexander was held to five points while Briggs was held to eight, as they went 5-of-14 from the field.
The Buckeyes look to keep the duo at bay in their matchup Friday night.
Ohio State’s win Monday was led by redshirt junior guard Rikki Harris who had a career-high 23 points and seven steals. Sophomore guard Taylor Thierry and Mikesell also reached double figures as the Buckeyes snatched 13 steals while forcing 27 turnovers.
Turnovers will play a big part in Friday’s game. In the earlier matchup, the Buckeyes forced 15 turnovers from Maryland and had five steals but turned the ball over a grand total of 24 times.
The Buckeyes also look to limit the Terrapins as the team shot over 40 percent in each quarter, with their highest shooting percentage being 63 percent in the second. Ohio State only allowed one field goal in the fourth quarter against Michigan, an impressive stretch in which freshman forward Cotie McMahon sat out with foul trouble for nearly half of the quarter.
McMahon was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season on Monday, tying former guard Kelsey Mitchell’s program record. The Buckeyes will look for McMahon to play a critical role against Maryland, as she struggled in the earlier matchup going 3-of-10 from the floor with six points.
Early foul trouble for McMahon against the Wolverines also hindered the Buckeyes as she was held scoreless in the first half. The Centerville, Ohio, native will look to end her freshman campaign off strong while Mikesell along with the rest of Ohio State’s seniors hope to have a lasting farewell performance at Value City Arena.
Ohio State has four players who are seniors: guard Jacy Sheldon, forward Rebeka Mikulasikova, forward Eboni Walker and Mikesell. All these players have started this season or played in a starting position in place of the other.
The Buckeyes’ eyes are set on ending the season strong and going into the postseason focused on one goal in mind — the NCAA national championship.
Tip-off against Maryland is scheduled for 6 p.m. broadcast on Big Ten Network.
